Pit bull kills pets, frightens family

A Lompoc family was terrorized twice Monday when a pit bull entered its house, cornered them and later killed four pets.

The gray male dog entered the back yard of Renee Walker's home in the 1100 block of West Lime Avenue about 3:30 p.m. and walked into the living room through a sliding door, Walker said. The dog cornered her and her 12-year-old daughter, Sarah Willard, in the house until Renee's husband, Garry, chased it out with a baseball bat.

"I was scared for my life," she said. "My daughter was, too. She's so tiny. I was protecting her."

Adding to the family's trauma was watching the pit bull kill four of their pets, Walker said. In the back yard, the pit bull had attacked the family's cat and three guinea pigs, leaving a mess of fur and blood on the lawn.

"It tore our pets up in front of us," she said. "My whole front lawn was full of blood and we had to water it down.

"It dragged my cat and the guinea pigs into the front yard," Walker said. "He had blood dripping form his mouth when he was done, and it was the scariest thing I had ever seen."

Walker said she had left the gate to her back yard open after getting a water hose from the front yard to clean her guinea pigs' cages.

Her 13-year-old son, Daniel Willard, was not at home at the time of the attack, she said, and other family pets - three cats and four puppies - were safe in the house because she had put them in a room to prevent them from escaping while the gate was open.

After the attack, Walker said, two men stopped their car in front of her home when they heard her screaming, and she used one of their cell phones to call the police. They reported the incident to county Animal Services.

Walker and the men followed the pit bull and a Chihuahua, which had been trailing the larger dog throughout the incident, to the backyard of a nearby home in the 400 block of Sage Street.

Walker and her daughter waited for the home's occupants to return but eventually went home to get jackets. But while they were home, the pit bull returned and cornered them again by their front door, Walker said. This time her husband grabbed a toy water rifle and chased the dog down the street.

A woman arrived at the Sage Street address at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Walker said, and confirmed she owned the dogs.

Animal control officials were notified of the incident around 4 p.m. Monday, said Santa Barbara Animal Services Director Jan Glick. An officer went to the pit bull owner's home Tuesday around 10 a.m., Walker said.

Glick declined to name the owner of the dogs but confirmed the pit bull and Chihuahua belonged to the occupant of the Sage Street home.

"This is still an ongoing investigation and I know our staff is going to want to pursue this and make sure this situation is resolved."

The licenses for both dogs were expired, and a notice of inspection was left on the door of the home Tuesday, Glick said. However, the dogs were not impounded.

"We have a prior notice from a number of months ago that the dogs were loose, and so this investigation is open," Glick said. "One of the suggestions our staff had made (to Walker) was to sign a third-party citation because she witnessed a violation of the dogs being loose. The city leash law states that dogs have to be under control of the owner."

Walker said Tuesday she will fill out the necessary paperwork with animal services as soon as possible. Depending on the results of the investigation, penalties could including euthanizing the dog, Glick said.

Meanwhile, the remains of the Walkers' 5-year-old Siamese cat and the three year-old guinea pigs have been buried near the Walkers' back yard under a pine tree.

"I marked the graves with crosses, angel (statuettes), candles and flowers," Walker said. "Tonight I'm going to light the candles by their graves and remember the pets with my family."

Walker said she and her daughter have been traumatized by Monday's events. Sarah hasn't gone into the back yard since the attack, her mother said.

"She slept with the light on (Monday night) and she wanted me to sleep with her all night," Walker said. "We both didn't get to bed until 3 a.m. We were both totally upset."

* Staff writer Neil Nisperos can be reached at 736-2313, Ext. 108, or by e-mail at nnisperos@pulitzer.net.

Oct. 13, 2004